Shelby Manning (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shelbycobra) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
muserevival2015-12-11 11:06 pm
shelbycobra) wrote in muserevival2015-12-11 11:06 pm
110.3.2 - diary
Take chances
Things change when you're at the top. I've been the Verizon IndyCar Series champion for two and a half months and I've seen it. People say being at the top means that everyone else is gunning for you. I don't think that's true; no one is specifically aiming for me. We're all just focused on winning. But as the person with the trophy in your hands, you do start looking at things in a way that you didn't before.
Take right now, for example. I have an offer on the table to run my second Rolex 24 at Daytona for Chip Ganassi Racing. Last fall I broke down and cried when I got that phone call. I jumped at the opportunity. This time I'm actually considering not taking it, because I want to spend more time with my family to make up for all the time we lost this year. Because I don't know if I need to focus on the IndyCar season now that it's even longer. Because I'm concerned that with as much as that first race meant this January, if I wouldn't just be spoiling the memory should we come back and fail to duplicate that success.
I'm aware of how much smaller my public margin for error is, too. Last year, I was a success story because no one expected me to do that well. But this year if I have an off week, it's going to be the champion taking a fall. If I don't contend for a title, even if I have a good season, it'll be too easy for people to label me as a one-season wonder. There's something messed up about that, but that's how people talk when they're on the outside looking in.
But even with all that extra noise going around in my head, being the champion has also given me an extra dose of perspective. Over the last two months I've watched drivers lose seats for lack of financial support. The exact thing that happened to me two years ago. It's really surreal to be on the other side of that issue, to know that I have a guaranteed drive and that while every other team has been cutting cars, I did well enough to justify Team Penske keeping all four of ours.
That shows me I can't play defense. I can't drive not to lose. That goes against everything that we are and everything that brought me here. Of course when you take chances, some of them won't work out. But if I just sat on my hands and played it safe I would be wasting an immense blessing. There are so many people who'd love to be where I am right now, and I owe it to them and to my teammates and my crew to get the most out of this opportunity. Even if I mess up a few times, at least I'll know that I gave it everything I had.
Just like losing my car in 2013 made me a better driver, being the champion in 2015 has made me stronger, too. I've now seen the world from both extremes of the spectrum. I've learned what it really means to be the best. And while that comes with a bunch of scary stuff to think about, I will also never have a better opportunity to take a leap and fly.
--
Shelby Manning Martin
Need for Speed OC
565 words
Things change when you're at the top. I've been the Verizon IndyCar Series champion for two and a half months and I've seen it. People say being at the top means that everyone else is gunning for you. I don't think that's true; no one is specifically aiming for me. We're all just focused on winning. But as the person with the trophy in your hands, you do start looking at things in a way that you didn't before.
Take right now, for example. I have an offer on the table to run my second Rolex 24 at Daytona for Chip Ganassi Racing. Last fall I broke down and cried when I got that phone call. I jumped at the opportunity. This time I'm actually considering not taking it, because I want to spend more time with my family to make up for all the time we lost this year. Because I don't know if I need to focus on the IndyCar season now that it's even longer. Because I'm concerned that with as much as that first race meant this January, if I wouldn't just be spoiling the memory should we come back and fail to duplicate that success.
I'm aware of how much smaller my public margin for error is, too. Last year, I was a success story because no one expected me to do that well. But this year if I have an off week, it's going to be the champion taking a fall. If I don't contend for a title, even if I have a good season, it'll be too easy for people to label me as a one-season wonder. There's something messed up about that, but that's how people talk when they're on the outside looking in.
But even with all that extra noise going around in my head, being the champion has also given me an extra dose of perspective. Over the last two months I've watched drivers lose seats for lack of financial support. The exact thing that happened to me two years ago. It's really surreal to be on the other side of that issue, to know that I have a guaranteed drive and that while every other team has been cutting cars, I did well enough to justify Team Penske keeping all four of ours.
That shows me I can't play defense. I can't drive not to lose. That goes against everything that we are and everything that brought me here. Of course when you take chances, some of them won't work out. But if I just sat on my hands and played it safe I would be wasting an immense blessing. There are so many people who'd love to be where I am right now, and I owe it to them and to my teammates and my crew to get the most out of this opportunity. Even if I mess up a few times, at least I'll know that I gave it everything I had.
Just like losing my car in 2013 made me a better driver, being the champion in 2015 has made me stronger, too. I've now seen the world from both extremes of the spectrum. I've learned what it really means to be the best. And while that comes with a bunch of scary stuff to think about, I will also never have a better opportunity to take a leap and fly.
--
Shelby Manning Martin
Need for Speed OC
565 words